Hoof Cracks

As I was exploring the possibility of getting a blog link from the Western Horseman web page to this blog site (which was a success) I ran across the forums they had running and one person had a question on hoof cracks. Now my favorite horse to work on is a horse that’s used and is sound, then if I had an expertise I would think it would be working on laminitic horses, and I’ve had quite a bit of success restoring cracked hooves. Once again in this blog I want to simply define terms describing cracks, which will help in determining the protocol to apply in order to successfully (if possible) heal the cracked hooves.
Toe, quarter, heel, bar cracks are terms used to define the location
Superficial indicates that the crack is not deep into sensitive structures and causes no pain or lameness issues. Typically there is no movement (opening or closing) of the crack when defining a crack as superficial.
Deep defines the crack as one that reaches all the way to the sensitive structures causing different degrees of pain/lameness. Cracks can be deep and have no bleeding. It is important to note if the crack widens (or closes) upon weight or non-weight bearing positions.
Sand Crack describes that the crack originates from the coronary band.
Grass Crack describes that the crack originates from the ground.
Also, the terms horizontal and vertical are key terms to use when defining a crack to someone who is not present.
Each properly defined crack will lend itself to various prognoses. In any further blog entries about what a shoer may do to help heal cracks this entry will be a good reference of terms used.

Laminitis and Founder

There really is a great deal to say about laminitis and founder. For this blog session I will give a simple definition / difference in the terms.
Laminitis is basically any disruption of the lamina (the hoof structure which makes up the observable white line). Lameness in the horse may or may not take place depending on the severity of this disruption. However if the probable cause is detected and is known to perpetrate severe laminitis the protocol would be to support the hoof structures with pathological techniques to ward off lameness before the lameness even becomes apparent. Typically, laminitis goes undetected until lameness occurs. It is at this acute stage that methods can be applied to remedy the lameness and have the best prognosis of recovery.
Founder should be a term used when there have been permanent structure changes (i.e. rotation of coffin bone) and the lameness progresses to chronic lameness. Shoeing methods can be applied to help the horse find comfort, but the prognosis for total soundness is uncommon, though not impossible.
FYI: It has been observed that during the months of February and March laminitis can be intensified triggered from systemic problems.

Horse color and disposition

If ever anyone had a pasture full of horses of various colors and genders and they told me, “one of those horses always follows me around, is good at untying knots, works the gate latch until it opens, investigates any bucket or sack that is out in the pasture, and is good to shoe.” I would always pick it to be the Bay and more specifically, the Bay Gelding.

My theory: the bay gene carries these inquisitive, and gentle dispositions.

After working as a farrier over the last 30 years with temporary work as wrangler, vet tech, and colt starter I’ve observed 1000’s of horses and scrutinized each horse’s attitude out of necessity. This is just one of my theories I’ve come up with while working by myself under and on top of horses seeking various avenues of thoughtful entertainment over the years!

If anyone reads this I hope you enjoyed.